❓ Premier Gallop defends the government's vision of 'growth with social justice', contrasting it with the previous Liberal government's focus on privatisation and user-pays policies, particularly impacting regional areas.
AnsweredQoN 99Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
The Opposition has criticised the Government for its so-called lack of vision in the development of Western Australia. Will the Premier please explain to the House what the true situation is? Dr G.I. GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
Our Government has a very clear and comprehensive vision for the future of Western Australia. One way in which we could define our approach to the future of Western Australia is that we are aggressively pursuing growth with social justice. There is no better illustration of our commitment to social justice than what we have done for working people in this State. I remind everyone in the House that since there has been a change in government, the minimum wage in Western Australia has gone up by $80 a week - that is a 28 per cent increase in the hourly rate for the minimum wage earners in Western Australia. We support working people. We make sure that they get a fair deal for the work that they do for the people of Western Australia. The Government has a clear vision. It is creating jobs, investment and opportunities throughout the States. We have a balanced view; we want to make sure that the metropolitan region and all the other regions get a fair go in the development of the State. It is interesting to contrast our vision - growth with justice - with the vision of the Liberal Party. One way to determine the Liberal Party’s vision for Western Australia is to look at what it did when it was in government for two terms. There is a very simple way to define that vision. It is the “p” word - privatisation. That was the Liberal Party’s vision for the future of Western Australia. I will remind members of the state printing service, the government passenger fleet - that was a very successful privatisation, was it not - Health Care Linen, the State Government Insurance Office, Total West transport, Westrail freight and the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline - a list of assets totalling $5 billion. Of course, the previous Government had a very interesting set of policies for Main Roads. Everyone in regional Western Australia knows about this Government’s policy for Main Roads. The previous Government dismantled that organisation. The maintenance work was contracted out for 10 years to four major contractors; the geotechnical work and the design work was contracted out for three to five years. The Labor Government has come back in and put the balance back. I congratulate the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure for doing that. She has reinstated and reformed the bridge maintenance crews. She has brought a lot of geotechnical knowledge, as well as soil testing, back into the department. The previous Government was on the brink of destroying that magnificent department. We came back into government and we are restoring it to its true role in rural and regional Western Australia. That was the previous Government’s vision, and the present Opposition still has the same vision of privatisation. The West Australian exposed that last year, when the Leader of the Opposition would not rule out a comprehensive campaign of privatisation, including the Totalisator Agency Board, Western Power, the Water Corporation, the port authorities and Westrail Transwa. Mr C.J. Barnett: Why don’t you try the truth? Dr G.I. GALLOP: I could talk about Westrail and what it has meant for rural and regional customers in Western Australia. The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: Our Government has a very clear and comprehensive vision for the future of Western Australia. One way in which we could define our approach to the future of Western Australia is that we are aggressively pursuing growth with social justice. There is no better illustration of our commitment to social justice than what we have done for working people in this State. I remind everyone in the House that since there has been a change in government, the minimum wage in Western Australia has gone up by $80 a week - that is a 28 per cent increase in the hourly rate for the minimum wage earners in Western Australia. We support working people. We make sure that they get a fair deal for the work that they do for the people of Western Australia. The Government has a clear vision. It is creating jobs, investment and opportunities throughout the States. We have a balanced view; we want to make sure that the metropolitan region and all the other regions get a fair go in the development of the State. It is interesting to contrast our vision - growth with justice - with the vision of the Liberal Party. One way to determine the Liberal Party’s vision for Western Australia is to look at what it did when it was in government for two terms. There is a very simple way to define that vision. It is the “p” word - privatisation. That was the Liberal Party’s vision for the future of Western Australia. I will remind members of the state printing service, the government passenger fleet - that was a very successful privatisation, was it not - Health Care Linen, the State Government Insurance Office, Total West transport, Westrail freight and the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline - a list of assets totalling $5 billion. Of course, the previous Government had a very interesting set of policies for Main Roads. Everyone in regional Western Australia knows about this Government’s policy for Main Roads. The previous Government dismantled that organisation. The maintenance work was contracted out for 10 years to four major contractors; the geotechnical work and the design work was contracted out for three to five years. The Labor Government has come back in and put the balance back. I congratulate the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure for doing that. She has reinstated and reformed the bridge maintenance crews. She has brought a lot of geotechnical knowledge, as well as soil testing, back into the department. The previous Government was on the brink of destroying that magnificent department. We came back into government and we are restoring it to its true role in rural and regional Western Australia. That was the previous Government’s vision, and the present Opposition still has the same vision of privatisation. The West Australian exposed that last year, when the Leader of the Opposition would not rule out a comprehensive campaign of privatisation, including the Totalisator Agency Board, Western Power, the Water Corporation, the port authorities and Westrail Transwa. Mr C.J. Barnett: Why don’t you try the truth? Dr G.I. GALLOP: I could talk about Westrail and what it has meant for rural and regional customers in Western Australia. The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
Our Government has a very clear and comprehensive vision for the future of Western Australia. One way in which we could define our approach to the future of Western Australia is that we are aggressively pursuing growth with social justice. There is no better illustration of our commitment to social justice than what we have done for working people in this State. I remind everyone in the House that since there has been a change in government, the minimum wage in Western Australia has gone up by $80 a week - that is a 28 per cent increase in the hourly rate for the minimum wage earners in Western Australia. We support working people. We make sure that they get a fair deal for the work that they do for the people of Western Australia. The Government has a clear vision. It is creating jobs, investment and opportunities throughout the States. We have a balanced view; we want to make sure that the metropolitan region and all the other regions get a fair go in the development of the State. It is interesting to contrast our vision - growth with justice - with the vision of the Liberal Party. One way to determine the Liberal Party’s vision for Western Australia is to look at what it did when it was in government for two terms. There is a very simple way to define that vision. It is the “p” word - privatisation. That was the Liberal Party’s vision for the future of Western Australia. I will remind members of the state printing service, the government passenger fleet - that was a very successful privatisation, was it not - Health Care Linen, the State Government Insurance Office, Total West transport, Westrail freight and the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline - a list of assets totalling $5 billion. Of course, the previous Government had a very interesting set of policies for Main Roads. Everyone in regional Western Australia knows about this Government’s policy for Main Roads. The previous Government dismantled that organisation. The maintenance work was contracted out for 10 years to four major contractors; the geotechnical work and the design work was contracted out for three to five years. The Labor Government has come back in and put the balance back. I congratulate the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure for doing that. She has reinstated and reformed the bridge maintenance crews. She has brought a lot of geotechnical knowledge, as well as soil testing, back into the department. The previous Government was on the brink of destroying that magnificent department. We came back into government and we are restoring it to its true role in rural and regional Western Australia. That was the previous Government’s vision, and the present Opposition still has the same vision of privatisation. The West Australian exposed that last year, when the Leader of the Opposition would not rule out a comprehensive campaign of privatisation, including the Totalisator Agency Board, Western Power, the Water Corporation, the port authorities and Westrail Transwa. Mr C.J. Barnett: Why don’t you try the truth? Dr G.I. GALLOP: I could talk about Westrail and what it has meant for rural and regional customers in Western Australia. The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
It is interesting to contrast our vision - growth with justice - with the vision of the Liberal Party. One way to determine the Liberal Party’s vision for Western Australia is to look at what it did when it was in government for two terms. There is a very simple way to define that vision. It is the “p” word - privatisation. That was the Liberal Party’s vision for the future of Western Australia. I will remind members of the state printing service, the government passenger fleet - that was a very successful privatisation, was it not - Health Care Linen, the State Government Insurance Office, Total West transport, Westrail freight and the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline - a list of assets totalling $5 billion. Of course, the previous Government had a very interesting set of policies for Main Roads. Everyone in regional Western Australia knows about this Government’s policy for Main Roads. The previous Government dismantled that organisation. The maintenance work was contracted out for 10 years to four major contractors; the geotechnical work and the design work was contracted out for three to five years. The Labor Government has come back in and put the balance back. I congratulate the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure for doing that. She has reinstated and reformed the bridge maintenance crews. She has brought a lot of geotechnical knowledge, as well as soil testing, back into the department. The previous Government was on the brink of destroying that magnificent department. We came back into government and we are restoring it to its true role in rural and regional Western Australia. That was the previous Government’s vision, and the present Opposition still has the same vision of privatisation. The West Australian exposed that last year, when the Leader of the Opposition would not rule out a comprehensive campaign of privatisation, including the Totalisator Agency Board, Western Power, the Water Corporation, the port authorities and Westrail Transwa. Mr C.J. Barnett: Why don’t you try the truth? Dr G.I. GALLOP: I could talk about Westrail and what it has meant for rural and regional customers in Western Australia. The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
Mr C.J. Barnett: Why don’t you try the truth? Dr G.I. GALLOP: I could talk about Westrail and what it has meant for rural and regional customers in Western Australia. The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: I could talk about Westrail and what it has meant for rural and regional customers in Western Australia. The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: Our Government has a very clear and comprehensive vision for the future of Western Australia. One way in which we could define our approach to the future of Western Australia is that we are aggressively pursuing growth with social justice. There is no better illustration of our commitment to social justice than what we have done for working people in this State. I remind everyone in the House that since there has been a change in government, the minimum wage in Western Australia has gone up by $80 a week - that is a 28 per cent increase in the hourly rate for the minimum wage earners in Western Australia. We support working people. We make sure that they get a fair deal for the work that they do for the people of Western Australia. The Government has a clear vision. It is creating jobs, investment and opportunities throughout the States. We have a balanced view; we want to make sure that the metropolitan region and all the other regions get a fair go in the development of the State. It is interesting to contrast our vision - growth with justice - with the vision of the Liberal Party. One way to determine the Liberal Party’s vision for Western Australia is to look at what it did when it was in government for two terms. There is a very simple way to define that vision. It is the “p” word - privatisation. That was the Liberal Party’s vision for the future of Western Australia. I will remind members of the state printing service, the government passenger fleet - that was a very successful privatisation, was it not - Health Care Linen, the State Government Insurance Office, Total West transport, Westrail freight and the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline - a list of assets totalling $5 billion. Of course, the previous Government had a very interesting set of policies for Main Roads. Everyone in regional Western Australia knows about this Government’s policy for Main Roads. The previous Government dismantled that organisation. The maintenance work was contracted out for 10 years to four major contractors; the geotechnical work and the design work was contracted out for three to five years. The Labor Government has come back in and put the balance back. I congratulate the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure for doing that. She has reinstated and reformed the bridge maintenance crews. She has brought a lot of geotechnical knowledge, as well as soil testing, back into the department. The previous Government was on the brink of destroying that magnificent department. We came back into government and we are restoring it to its true role in rural and regional Western Australia. That was the previous Government’s vision, and the present Opposition still has the same vision of privatisation. The West Australian exposed that last year, when the Leader of the Opposition would not rule out a comprehensive campaign of privatisation, including the Totalisator Agency Board, Western Power, the Water Corporation, the port authorities and Westrail Transwa. Mr C.J. Barnett: Why don’t you try the truth? Dr G.I. GALLOP: I could talk about Westrail and what it has meant for rural and regional customers in Western Australia. The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
Our Government has a very clear and comprehensive vision for the future of Western Australia. One way in which we could define our approach to the future of Western Australia is that we are aggressively pursuing growth with social justice. There is no better illustration of our commitment to social justice than what we have done for working people in this State. I remind everyone in the House that since there has been a change in government, the minimum wage in Western Australia has gone up by $80 a week - that is a 28 per cent increase in the hourly rate for the minimum wage earners in Western Australia. We support working people. We make sure that they get a fair deal for the work that they do for the people of Western Australia. The Government has a clear vision. It is creating jobs, investment and opportunities throughout the States. We have a balanced view; we want to make sure that the metropolitan region and all the other regions get a fair go in the development of the State. It is interesting to contrast our vision - growth with justice - with the vision of the Liberal Party. One way to determine the Liberal Party’s vision for Western Australia is to look at what it did when it was in government for two terms. There is a very simple way to define that vision. It is the “p” word - privatisation. That was the Liberal Party’s vision for the future of Western Australia. I will remind members of the state printing service, the government passenger fleet - that was a very successful privatisation, was it not - Health Care Linen, the State Government Insurance Office, Total West transport, Westrail freight and the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline - a list of assets totalling $5 billion. Of course, the previous Government had a very interesting set of policies for Main Roads. Everyone in regional Western Australia knows about this Government’s policy for Main Roads. The previous Government dismantled that organisation. The maintenance work was contracted out for 10 years to four major contractors; the geotechnical work and the design work was contracted out for three to five years. The Labor Government has come back in and put the balance back. I congratulate the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure for doing that. She has reinstated and reformed the bridge maintenance crews. She has brought a lot of geotechnical knowledge, as well as soil testing, back into the department. The previous Government was on the brink of destroying that magnificent department. We came back into government and we are restoring it to its true role in rural and regional Western Australia. That was the previous Government’s vision, and the present Opposition still has the same vision of privatisation. The West Australian exposed that last year, when the Leader of the Opposition would not rule out a comprehensive campaign of privatisation, including the Totalisator Agency Board, Western Power, the Water Corporation, the port authorities and Westrail Transwa. Mr C.J. Barnett: Why don’t you try the truth? Dr G.I. GALLOP: I could talk about Westrail and what it has meant for rural and regional customers in Western Australia. The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
It is interesting to contrast our vision - growth with justice - with the vision of the Liberal Party. One way to determine the Liberal Party’s vision for Western Australia is to look at what it did when it was in government for two terms. There is a very simple way to define that vision. It is the “p” word - privatisation. That was the Liberal Party’s vision for the future of Western Australia. I will remind members of the state printing service, the government passenger fleet - that was a very successful privatisation, was it not - Health Care Linen, the State Government Insurance Office, Total West transport, Westrail freight and the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline - a list of assets totalling $5 billion. Of course, the previous Government had a very interesting set of policies for Main Roads. Everyone in regional Western Australia knows about this Government’s policy for Main Roads. The previous Government dismantled that organisation. The maintenance work was contracted out for 10 years to four major contractors; the geotechnical work and the design work was contracted out for three to five years. The Labor Government has come back in and put the balance back. I congratulate the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure for doing that. She has reinstated and reformed the bridge maintenance crews. She has brought a lot of geotechnical knowledge, as well as soil testing, back into the department. The previous Government was on the brink of destroying that magnificent department. We came back into government and we are restoring it to its true role in rural and regional Western Australia. That was the previous Government’s vision, and the present Opposition still has the same vision of privatisation. The West Australian exposed that last year, when the Leader of the Opposition would not rule out a comprehensive campaign of privatisation, including the Totalisator Agency Board, Western Power, the Water Corporation, the port authorities and Westrail Transwa. Mr C.J. Barnett: Why don’t you try the truth? Dr G.I. GALLOP: I could talk about Westrail and what it has meant for rural and regional customers in Western Australia. The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
Mr C.J. Barnett: Why don’t you try the truth? Dr G.I. GALLOP: I could talk about Westrail and what it has meant for rural and regional customers in Western Australia. The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: I could talk about Westrail and what it has meant for rural and regional customers in Western Australia. The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
The other part of the Liberal vision for Western Australia is fascinating. It is the user-pays vision. This is a wonderful vision that affects rural and regional people throughout this great State. The Leader of the Opposition scrapped the uniform electricity tariff in 1998. We reintroduced it. Do members know what we had to do to reintroduce it? The Minister for Energy had to issue a direction to Western Power, which he did on 25 October 2001. That is how seriously the Government takes the needs of its rural and regional customers. As a result of the Government’s steps, many commercial power consumers throughout the State now pay 16c a unit for electricity, rather than the 20c they were charged under the present Leader of the Opposition. Savings of up to $480 000 were delivered to businesses and other large energy consumers in Broome, Derby, Kununurra, Norseman, Esperance, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet. The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
The Government of Western Australia supports our rural and regional communities. We understand that privatisation madness undermines the living conditions of people in rural and regional Western Australia. We have the will and the capacity to oppose it. We understand that the uniform tariff is fundamentally important for rural and regional customers, and that is why we reinstated it. The vision of the Government is very clear for all to see, as is the privatisation and user-pays vision of the Opposition.
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